Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 4, 1802).djvu/147

125&#93; SQ^U shores of the Levant, especially on those of Spain, and Portugal, whence considerable quantities of its roots are annually imported. The best sea-onions ought to be sound, fresh, and to contain a vis- cous juice : they are nauseous, bit- ter, and, if much handled, are so acrid as to ulcerate the skin. The squill is a powerful stimu- lant, promoting the discharge of urine ; and, if the patient be kept warm, a profuse perspiration. It is chiefly employed in cases, where the organs of respiration are clog- ged, or oppressed wilh mucus : — when combined with nitre in the proportion of from 4 to 1 grains of the dried root, with a double quan- tity of saltpetre, it has been great- ly extolled for its efficacy in drop- sical swellings, and inflammations of the kidnies. If the sciuill be taken in a large dose, it operates as «n emetic ; and, in some persons, as a purgative. It is often pre- scribed in the form of pills; though, when mixed with honey into an OXYMEL, it affords an useful me- dicine for obstinate coughs, — The roots of the sea-onion pay, on importation, the duty of 2s. gd. per lb. S aui NANCY- BERRIES. See CuK- BANT, the Black. SQUINTING, or Strabismus, an aflre(!l:ion of the eyes, occasioned by the optic axes not converging ; in consequence of which, the or- gans of sight appear distorted. Improper habits frequently in- duce this defe6V, while the eye and its muscles are perfeft; for instance, in children, wl)0 accustom them- selves to view ditierent things at one time ; or, who are placed ob- liquely towards any obje6t that may attra6t their attention. An- other cause is mal-conformation of SQ^U [.25 the retina, or such parts as serve to convey impressions to the point of vision; so that persons, thus si- tuated, are obliged ro turn the eye from the obje£t to be investigated, in order that they may be enabled to behold it more distin£tly. — Far- ther, it often proceeds from weak- ness, or defe6t of either eye, so that both cannot be mutually em- ployed. Besides, it may be conse- quent on afFedions of the brain, epilepsy, terror, and defluxions of rheumatic humours. The method of cure to be adopted in this unpleasant distortion, varies according to the cause. Thus, ia children, and in cases of weakness of the eyes, it may be remedied by mechanical contrivances. Hence, when there is no organic defeQ: ia either eye, which is frequently the case with persons who squint from a depraved habit of moving their eyes, the disease may often be cured. Dr. Darwin remarks (PkilosopJdcal Transaftions, vol. 68), that in all the squinting people he had occasion to attend, one eye was less perfect than the other : these patients are, in his opinion, certainly curable, by covering the best eye many hours in the day ; as, by a more frequent use of the weak eye, it not only ac- quires a habit of turning to the obje6ts which the patient wishes io see, but gains at the same time, a more distinct vision : in both tliese respefts, the better eye is under some disadvantage, which also fa- cilitates the cure. This ingenious physician relates, in the same paper, a remarkable case of a boy, theu live years old (now a reputable English clergyman at Edinburgh), who has the misfortune of view- ing every object with one eye only at a time. Dr. D. direded a paper